Rewinding mechanism for printing machines



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REWINDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed April 20, 1961 ll Sheets-Sheet 11 FIG. 20

INVEMOR, allanul. Rash/and United States Patent Ofiiice 3,127,122 Patented Mar. 31, 1964 3,127,122 REWHNDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHWES Alien 1. Roshkind, Gienview, 111., assignor to A B Dick Company, Chicago, ilL, a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 104,467 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-56) This invention relates to printing machines or other machines in which a web of paper or the like is rewound into rolls, after the Web has been printed, or some other operation has been carried out on the web.

Thus one principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved mechanism for rewinding a web into rolls.

A further object is to provide a new and improved mechanism of the foregoing character which is arranged so that a new roll may be started, wound up and severed from the web, without interrupting the normal movement of the web.

Another object is to provide a new and improved automatic rewinding mechanism having a plurality of rewinding spindles, together with means for rewinding the web into rolls on each of the spindles in turn, without inter rupting the movement of the web.

A further object is to provide a new and improved rewinding mechanism having means for severing each roll from the web, together with means whereby the next spindle automatically takes up and winds the severed leading end of the web.

Another object is to provide a new and improved rewinding mechanism having means for automatically severing each roll from the web if the roll is wound up-to a predetermined size, so that such size will not be exceeded.

It is another object to provide a new and improved rewinding mechanism in which the web is normally wound onto cylindrical tubes received upon the rewinding spindles, and in which means are provided to prevent the web from being wound directly on any of the spindles, which would make it difficult or impossible to remove the roll from the spindle.

A further object is to provide a rewinding mechanism having means for indexing each of the spindles in turn into the position in which the web is wound onto the spindle.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic general front elevational view of a label printing machine equipped with a rewinding mechanism to be described as an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the printed paper web to be rewound on the machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3= is a fragmentary front elevation view corresponding to the right-hand portion of FIG. 1 and showing the rewinding mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing the rewinding mechanism on a still larger scale.

FIG. 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevational view taken generally as indicated by the line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is l3 fragmentary sectional view taken general-1y along the line 6-6 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view, taken generally as indicated by the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary rear elevational view, taken generally \along the line 8-8 in FIG. showing one of the rewinding spindles, the associated drive mechanism being shown in the position in which the spindle is being driven to rewind the web.

BIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, taken generally along the line 9-9 in FIG. 10', but showing the drive mechanism in the position in which the spindle is not driven.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken generally along the line 10-10 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 11-11 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing details of the mechanism for gauging the size of the roll onto which the web is being wound, so that the roll may be severed from the web when a predetermined size is reached.

FIG. 13 is a somewhat diagrammatic elevational view taken generally as indicated by the line 13-13 in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a somewhat diagrammatic front elevational view showing the mechanism for severing the rewound roll from the web, and for transferring the severed leading end of the web to the next spindle.

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken generally along the line 15-15 in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary view of the cutter for severing the web, the view being taken as indicated by the line 16-16 in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a somewhat diagrammatic front elevational view of the rewinding mechanism, showing details of the manner in which the driving mechanism for each spindle is activated as the spindle is indexed toward the rewinding position.

FIG. 18 is a somewhat diagrammatic fragmentary front elevati-onal view showing the arrangement for preventing the web from being wound directly on the rewinding spindles, if the operator neglects to mount a winding tube thereon.

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary sectional View, taken generally along the line 19-19 in FIG. 18.

PEG. 20 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken generally along the line Zii-Ztl in FIG. 18.

It will be seen that FIG. 1 illustrates a label printing machine 21 adapted to print mailing labels or the like on a paper web or tape 22. FIG. 2 illustrates the tape 22 in its final form, with mailing \addresess 23 or the like printed thereon. Between the addresses 23, the tape 22 is punched with indexing holes 24. 'It will be understood that the tape 22 may be cut off successively at each of the holes 24- to separate the tape into individual mailing labels, which may be applied to magazines or the like. Automatic machines (not shown may be employed to cut the labels from the tape and to apply the labels to the magazines. The illustrated label printing machine 21 rewinds the tape or web 22, after it has been printed, to cfiorm rolls 25 which are severed from the web and taken off the machine 21 for subsequent use on the label cutting and applying machines.

In general, the label printing machine 21 comprises a supply unit 26 including a roll stand '27 adapted to hold two large supply rolls 28a and 23b of the paper tape 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the tape or web 22 is being unrolled from the roll 23a, while the roll 28b serves as a standby, to be used when the roll 28a is nearly exhausted. For clarity, the new web from the standby roll 28b will be designated 22b.

The supply unit 26 also comprises a splicer 29 which comes into play when the roll 28a is nearly exhausted. The splicer 29 then stops the movement of the web 22 momentarily, cuts off the old web '22, and splices the leading end of the new web 22b to the trailing end of the old web 22. The web is then released so that it resumes its normal travel through the machine.

After traveling through the splicer 2%, the web 22 passes through a storage elevator 30 which regulates the tension on the web and makes it possible to stop the web momentarily at the splicer 29 while the movement of the web continues without interruption beyond the elevator 30.

From the supply elevator 30, the web 22 passes through a printing unit 32 which prints the addresess 23 or other material on the web. The labels may be printed in a variety of ways, but in this case the labels are printed at extremely high speed by an electronic printer 34 which produces an electrostatic image of each address on the tape, develops the image by dusting it with a powdered material, adapted to adhere to the electrostatic image, and fuses the powdered material so that it will adhere permanently to the tape.

Next, the tape 22 passes through a punching unit 36 which forms the holes 24. The tape then passes through another storage elevator 38 and over a guide roller 39 to a rewinding unit 40 which rewinds the printed tape to form the rolls 25.

It will be seen that the rewinding unit 40 comprises a plurality of rewinding spindles 42 which are mounted on a rotatable indexing wheel 44. As each roll 25 is being wound on one of the spindles 42, the web 22 passes around one of the adjacent spindles, which is thereby driven in the manner of a pulley. When the roll 25 is wound to the desired size, the roll is severed from the web 22 by a severing unit 46, which cuts olt the web at the adjacent spindle. The leading end of the web is then wound around such adjacent spindle, and the wheel 44 is indexed so as to bring each spindle in turn into play. The completed roll of printed labels may then be removed from the corresponding spindle.

The roll stand 27 comprises a rotatable indexing wheel 48 having two spindles or shafts 50a and 50b thereon for supporting the supply rolls 28a and 28!). It will be seen that the web 22 is being pulled olt the roll 28a on the upper spindle 59a, and that the standby roll 28b is on the lower spindle 56b. When the standby web 22b is spliced to the web 22 by the splicer 29, the wheel 48 is indexed clockwise through one-half revolution to bring the spindle 50b to the uppermost position. A full roll is then placed on the spindle 59a to serve as a standby, in preparation for another splice. The wheel 48 is provided with guide rollers 52a and 5212 around which the standby web is threaded between the standby roll and the splicer 29. Thus, the standby web 22b passes upwardly, around the roller 52b and in a generally horizontal direction to the splicer 29. The roller 52b positions the web 22b so that it will not come into engagement with the roll 28a or the web 22 until the splice is made. When the wheel 48 is indexed, the roller 52b is disengaged from the web.

Various features of the web splicer 29 and the supply unit 26 are disclosed and claimed in the co-pending patent application of Allan I. Roshkind, Serial No. 98,206, filed March 24, 1961, and thus will not be described in detail in this application. It will be understood that this invention is not concerned with the printing unit 32 or the punching unit 36, which may be of any known or suitable construction. These units will not be described in detail in this application.

In this case, six of the rewinding spindles 42 are provided and are spaced at equal angular intervals of 60 degrees around the indexing wheel 44. The rewinding spindles 42 are all the same in construction but are adapted to be indexed, by the rotation of the indexing wheel or disk 44, into six distinct positions, Nos. 16 in FIG. 3.

At the No. 1 position, the severed leading end of the web 22 is taken by the spindle 42 to start the rewinding operation. The wheel 44 is then indexed through one step to bring the spindle to the No. 2 position, in which the rewinding operation is completed. When the completed roll 25 is severed from the web 22, the wheel 44 is indexed through another step to bring the spindle to the No. 3 position, in which the drive is disconnected from the spindle, so that the completed roll 25 may be removed from the spindle by the operator. In passing between the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, the completed roll brushes against a spring biased arm or blade 60 which acts as a frictional brake to stop the roll from rotating as the drive is disconnected. The arm 60 is swingable downwardly, about a pivot 62, against the biasing action of a spring 64, as the roll 25 passes between the No. 2 and 3 positions. The downwardly swung position of the arm 60 is shown in broken lines in FIG. 12.

Subsequent indexing rotation of the wheel 44 brings the spindle successively to the positions numbered 3, 4, 5 and 6, and then back to the No. 1 position. At the No. 3 and 4 positions, the operator removes the finished roll 25 from the spindle and places a rewinding tube or sleeve 66 thereon (FIG. 10). The tube 66 provides a core for the roll to be wound on the spindle,.so that the roll may easily be removed from the spindle. The tube 66 is frictionally retained on the spindle by a detent plunger 68 which is slidable radially in the spindle and is biased outwardly by a spring 70. The detent plunger 68 is movable part way into a hole 72 formed in the winding tube 66. The winding tube may be made of plastic or other suitable material.

When the spindle reaches the No. 5 position, the machine is stopped unless a winding tube 66 has been mounted on the spindle. This arrangement prevents the web from being wound directly onto the spindle, which would make it impossible or difiicult to remove the roll from the spindle. The presence of the rewinding tube 66 on the No. 5 spindle is detected by an arm 74 which is swingable about a pivot 76 and is provided with a roller 78 which is engageable with the winding tube 66. A spring 80 biases the arm 74 in a counterclockwise direction so that the roller 78 is pressed against the winding tube 66. If the spindle 42 at the No. 5 position is bare, the arm 74 swings inwardly beyond its normal position and operates a switch 82 (FIG. 18) which stops the machine.

The inward swinging movement of the arm 74 is limited by the action of a second arm 84 (FIG. 20) which is rigidly secured to the pivot shaft 76, to which the arm 74 is also rigidly secured. Thus, the arms 74 and 84 are swingable together. The arm 84 carries a roller 86 which is engageable with the circular periphery 88 of the indexing wheel or disk 44. Opposite each spindle 42, the circular periphery 88 is formed with a notch 90 which permits the roller 86 to move inwardly to a limited extent. By this arrangement, the arms 74 and 84 are held outwardly so that the stopping switch 82 is not operated while the spindles 42 are being indexed between positions by the rotation of the wheel 44. When each spindle 42 reaches the No. 5 position, the notch 90 permits the arm 74 to swing inwardly if the spindle is bare, so that the stopping switch 82 will be operated. If a winding tube 66 is on the spindle, the arm 74 is held outwardly to a sufficient extent to prevent operation of the stopping switch 82.

The finished roll 25 may still be on the spindle when it reaches the No. 5 position if the operator has neglected to remove the roll from the spindle. In that case, the arm 74 will be swung outwardly to a considerable extent by the engagement of the roller 78 with the roll 25. Such outward swinging movement of the arm 74 operates a second stopping switch 94 (FIG. 18) so as to stop the machine and prevent the finished roll from being indexed beyond the No. 5 position.

As the spindle is indexed to the No. 6 position, the drive to the spindle is activated so that the spindle is set into rotation.

The next indexing movement of the wheel 44 brings the spindle to the No. 1 position. As the spindle moves to this position, it engages the running web 22, which is traveling downwardly from the guide roller 39 to the next spindle, on which the web is being wound. The frictional engagement between the running web 22 and the spindle at the No. 1 position drives the spindle as a pulley, so that there is no substantial slippage between the web 22 and the spindle. Such driving action is provided for by an overrunning clutch 96 (FIG. which is connected between each spindle 42 and its coaxial drive shaft 98. Thus, the web is able to drive the spindle 42 at a speed greater than the speed of the drive shaft. The overrunning clutch 96 may be of any known or suitable construction. The drive shafts 93 for the three spindles at positions Nos. 6, 1 and 2 are driven at the same speed by a drive mechanism to be described in greater detail shortly. As the size of the roll on the No. 2 spindle increases, due to the winding up of the web, the speed of the spindle drive shaft will decrease, while the linear speed of the web remains constant. The web will drive the No. 1 spindle at a greater speed than that of its drive shaft.

As shown in FIG. 5, the indexing wheel 44 may be mounted on a rotatable shaft 160. A gear motor 1112 with a low speed output shaft 104 may be employed to index the wheel 44. As shown, meshing gears 116 and 118 are mounted on the shafts 101i and 194, so as to connect the motor 102 to the shaft 1%. A 6 to 1 reduction in speed is provided by the gears 1'16 and 118, so that one revolution of the motor shaft 164 will rotate the in dexing wheel 44 through 60 degrees. When the indexing motor 102 is energized, it rotates the shaft 104 through one revolution and then is stopped by the actuation of a switch 120 which is controlled by a earn 122 on the motor shaft. The switch 121) is bypassed electrically to start the motor 102. The cam 122 has a notch 124 therein. Upon the completion of one revolution of the cam 122, the notch 124 is entered by an arm 126 which is biased against the cam by a spring 128. The movement of the arm 126 actuates the switch 126.

A motor 130 may be provided to drive the rewinding spindles 42. It will be seen that the motor 130 drives a gear 132 (FIG. 6) meshing with a gear 134 which is rotatable about the axis of the shaft 100 but is free to rotate independently of the shaft. Thus, the gear 134 is mounted on a hub or sleeve 136. Bearings 138 and 141) are provided between the hub 136 and the shaft 161 The hub 136 also supports a gear 142 which meshes with three gears 144 having journals 146 mounted on the indexing wheel 44. Suitable bearings 148 are provided within the journals 146 and the gears 144.

Each of the gears 144 meshes with two gears 1513 adapted to drive two of the spindles 4 2. Each gear 150 (FIG. 4) is rotatable co-axially with respect to the drive shaft 955 of the corresponding spindle 42. However, a clutch 152 FIGS. 8, 9 and 10) is provided between each gear .156 and the corresponding shaft 98. The clutch 151)" is operable to apply driving power to the drive shaft 98 when the spindle is in the No. 6, -1 and 2 positions, while stopping the drive shaft when the spindle is in positions 3, 4 and 5.

Thus, the illustrated drive shaft 9 3 is mounted on bearings 154 and 156, while the gear 156' is mounted on separate bearings 158 and 166*. Bearings 162 and 164 are provided between the spindle 42 and the shaft 98 so that the spindle can overrun the shaft, as already explained.

The illustrated clutch 152 comprises a sleeve or collar 166 which is slidable along the rear portion of the drive shaft 98 but is connected to the drive shaft by a key 168 so as to be rotatable therewith. A clutch plate 170 and a brake plate 172 are secured to the collar 166. When the member 166 is moved to the right, as seen in FIG. 10, the clutch plate 170 engages the gear 1511 so that the gear will drive the shaft 98. The member 166 is biased to the right by a spring 174, which thus tends to engage the clutch. When the clutch is to be disengaged,

a nonrotatable brake plate 176 is moved to the left so as to engage the rotatable brake plate or disk 172. The movement of the plate 176 shifts the disk 172 and the collar 166 to the left so as to disengage the clutch disk 17!) from the gear 150. At the same time, the friction between the plate 176 and the disk 172 stops the drive shaft 98. The springs 178 are provided to bias the plate 176 to the right.

As shown to advantage in FIGS. 8 and 9, the clutch 152 is adapted to be disengaged by a rotatable cam plate 181} having rearwardly sloping cam tracks 182 and 164 thereon at diametrically opposite points. The cam tracks 182 and 184 are adapted to engage rollers 186 and 188 which are mounted on rearwardly slidable sleeves 189 and 190 connected to the brake plate 176. When the plate 1811 is swung counterclockwise, as seen from the rear in FIGS. 8 and 9, the cam tracks 182 and 1 84 move the brake plate 176 rearwardly and thus disengage the clutch 152. A spring 192 biases the plate in a clockwise direction and thus tends to disengage the clutch. However, a swingable pawl 194 is provided to hold the plate 180 in the position in which the clutch is disengaged. The pawl 194 is engageable with a notch 196 formed in the plate 180. The cams 182 and 184 are alike in function although differing slightly in shape in FIG. 9.

FIG. 17 illustrates the manner in which the clutches 152 for the various spindles 42 are engaged and disengaged. Each clutch operating cam plate 180 is formed with an arm 1% which carries a roller 200. The arm 1% is movable into an outwardly projecting position when the corresponding clutch is disengaged. When each spindle 42 moves between positions 2 and 3, the roller 26% engages a stationary cam 262 which swings the arm 19%; inwardly so as to disengage the clutch 152 and stop the drive shaft 918. The pawl 192 falls into the notch 196 and retains the clutch in its disengaged position. At this point, the pawl 194 is positioned above the plate 181) so that it is biased by gravity into the notch 196. The pawl is retained in the notch by friction due to the force of the spring 192.

When the spindle moves between positions Nos. 5 and 6, the roller 200 engages a second or upper stationary cam 206 which moves the arm 198 to a sufficient extent to relieve the engagement between the pawl 194 and the notch 196. The pawl then falls out of the notch so as to release the plate 180. At this point, due to the rotation of the wheel 44, the pawl has been inverted so that it is below the plate 181%. Thus, the arm 198 swings out wardly after passing the cam 206. In this way, the clutch is ope-rated to its engaged position, so that the drive shaft 98 will be rotated in positions 6, 1 and 2.

As already indicated, a severing mechanism 46 is provided at the No. 1 spindle position to sever the web 22 when the roll 25 being wound on the No. 2 spindle reaches the desired size. In the first stage of the severing operation, a pressure roller 210 (FIG. 14) is moved against the web so that the web will be pressed between the roller 21% and the spindle at the No. 1 position. It will be seen that the roller 210 is rotatably mounted on a two-armed lever 212 which is swingable about a pivot 214. A spring 216 biases the lever in a clockwise direction and thus tends to swing the roller 210 away [from the spindle 42. The lever 212 is adapted to be swung in a counterclockwise direction by a solenoid 218 connected to the lever by an adjustable link 220. Thus, operation of the sole noid21'8 moves the roller 210 against the web and presses it against the spindle 42. The pressure of the roller 210 insures that the web will drive the spindle 42 at the same surface speed as the web.

When the web 22 is to be severed, a knife 222 is brought against the web just below the spindle at the No. l position. The illustrated knife 222 has a cutting edge with a large number of sharply pointed serrations 224 which penetrate and sever the web. As shown in FIG. 14, the knife or cutter 222 is mounted on a pair of arms 226 which are secured to the rotatable pivot 214. A second spring 228 (FIG. 15) biases the cutter 222 away from the web. The spring 228 is connected to an arm 231 secured to the rotatable pivot shaft 214. The spring 228 biases the arm 231 upwardly, but upward movement of the arm 231 is limited by an adjustable screw stop 233. The cutter 222 is adapted to be swung toward the web by a solenoid 230 which is positioned behind the solenoid 218 and is connected to the arm 231 by an adjustable link 232.

When the web 22 is severed by the cutter 222, the severed portion of the web is wound up on the roll 25 on the No. 2 spindle. The severed leading end of the running web is taken by the No. 1 spindle to form a new roll. Simultaneously with the operation of the cutter 222, the indexing movement of the wheel 44 is begun so as to move the No. 1 spindle to the No. 2 position.

In the illustrated mechanism, the leading end of the running web is held against the No. 1 spindle, after the Web has been cut, by suction, supplied by a vacuum pump 236 (FIG. 5). Air is sucked from the spindle through a passage 238 (FIG. extending axially through the drive shaft 98. Radial passages 240 extend between the passage 23% and an annular space 242 in the spindle 42.

Radial passages 244 extend between the annular space 242 and a pair of longitudinal passages 246 in one side portion of the spindle. It will be seen that a plurality of radial passages 248 extend between the longitudinal passages 246 and grooves or cavities 250 in the surface of the spindle 42 on one side portion thereof. Holes 252 are formed in the tubular winding sleeve 66 opposite the grooves 250 so that the suction will be applied to the web 22 as it engages the sleeve 66. A key 254 is formed on the inside of the sleeve 66 to lock it on the spindle 42 so that the holes 252 will be aligned with the grooves 250. The key 254 is engageable with a slot 256 in the spindle.

To insure the proper positioning of the suction openings 252, with relation to the severed leading end of the web, the mechanism is arranged so that the cutter 222 is operated in timed relation to the rotation of the spindle 42 at the No. 1 position. In this case, the solenoid 230 which operates the cutter 222 is energized by the operation of a switch 260, which in turn is operable by a group of closely spaced permanent magnets 262. As indicated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the magnets 262 are mounted in a disk 264 secured to the rear end of the spindle 42 so as to rotate therewith. The switch 260 may be of the mercury type with an internal magnetic armature adapted to be operated by the magnets 262 so as to operate the switch when the magnets pass the switch. As already indicated, the operation of the switch 262 energizes the solenoid 230 and thereby actuates the cutter 222 so as to sever the web 22. The severed leading edge of the web is held against the winding tube 66 on the spindle 42 by the suction applied through the openings 252. Thus, the leading end of the web is carried around the spindle 42 to start a new roll. The solenoids 218 and 230 are then de-energized. The wheel 44 is indexed so as to move the No. 1 spindle to the No. 2 position.

Normally, the operation of the severing mechanism 46 is initiated by a signal from the electronic printer 34 so that the web will be severed at the end of a group of labels. However, the rewinding mechanism is arranged to prevent the rewound roll from building up to an excessive size if the severing signal fails to come from the electronic printer, possibly due to some malfunctioning of the printer, or an error in the programming of the printer. In this case, the size of the rewound roll 25 on the No. 2 spindle is gauged by a roller 270 (FIGS. 12 and 13) which rides on the roll 25. As shown, the roller 270 is mounted on the lower end of an arm 272 which is swingable about a pivot 274. A spring 276 biases the arm 272 in a counterclockwise direction so as to press the roller 270 against the roll 25.

In this case, the arm 272 is provided with three earns 273, 28th and 232 which are adapted to operate corresponding switches 284, 286 and 288. The cams 278, 286

and 282 are staggered so that the switches 284, 286 and 288 will be operated successively as the arm 272 is swung outwardly by the increasing size of the roll 25. The switch 273 is operated when the roll 25 reaches a predetermined minimum size. Until this switch is operated, the severing unit 46 is disabled, so that rolls of a size less than the minimum will not be severed from the web.

The switch 288 is operated when the roll 25 reaches a predetermined maximum size. The operation of this switch causes the severing unit 46 to operate so that the roll will be severed from the web before it becomes excessively large. If the roll was allowed to build up indefinitely, it would eventually jam the machine. The cam 280 and the switch 286 provide a somewhat smaller alternative maximum size. Thus, the switch 236 may be arranged so as to initiate the operation of the severing unit 46 if a smaller maximum roll size is desired.

At the time that the web is severed by the cutter 222, the spindle 42 is overrunning its drive shaft 98. When the web is severed, the spindle slows down because it is no longer being driven by the web. The slowing down of the spindle reduces the tension in the web, but the elevator 38 responds to this reduction in tension so as to increase the speed of the spindle drive motor 140.

As shown, the elevator 38 comprises three upper rollers 292, 294 and 296, and two lower rollers 298 and 300. The lower rollers 298 and 300 are translatable vertically while the upper rollers are not translatable. The web 22 is threaded back and forth between the upper and lower rollers. Thus, as shown, the web 22 is threaded over the roller 292, under the roller 298, over the roller 294, under the roller 300, and over the roller 296. The web has a plurality of vertical flights 302 extending between the rollers. These flights vary in length as the lower rollers 298 and 300 move upwardly and downwardly. The lower rollers are biased downwardly, with the result that the elevator 38 tends to maintain the tension in the web 22. When the tension decreases, the lower rollers 298 and 3% move downwardly so as to prevent any slack from developing. On the other hand, any increase in the tension in the web will cause the rollers 298 and 300 to move upwardly.

By means of any known or suitable type of control, the speed of the spindle drive motor is regulated as a function of the position of the rollers 298 and 300. Thus, as the rollers 298 and 3th) are raised by increasing tension in the web, the torque developed by the motor 130 is decreased. This tends to reduce the tension in the web and thus has a corrective effect. On the other hand, the torque developed by the motor is increased by any downward movement of the rollers 298 and 300 due to decreasing tension in the web.

As the roll 25 is wound onto the spindle 42 at the No. 2 position, the action of the elevator 38 decreases the speed of the spindle drive motor 130. When the web is severe the decreased tension in the web causes the rollers 298 and 300 to drop so that the speed of the spindle drive motor 130 is increased until the normal tension is restored.

It may be helpful to summarize briefly the operation of the rewinding unit 40. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the web 22 is being wound onto a roll 25 on the spindle 42 at the No. 2 position. When the desired group of labels has been wound onto the roll 25, a signal from the printer 34 initiates the operation of the severing unit 46. If the roll 25 reaches the desired maximum size before the signal arrives from the printer, the operation of the severing unit 46 is initiated by the outward movement of the arm 272.

When the severing unit 46 is actuated, the solenoid 213 moves the roller 210 to the right (FIG. 14) so as to press the web 22 against the spindle 42 at the No. 1 position. The web drives the spindle as a pulley at the surface speed of the web so that the spindle overruns its drive shaft 98. The overrunning clutch 96 provides for such overrunning of the spindle.

To sever the web, the solenoid 230 moves the cutter 222 against the web just below the spindle at the No. 1 position. The exact timing of the cutter solenoid 230 is governed by the magnets 262 which operate the control switch 260 as they pass the switch. The suction may be started and stopped simultaneously with the operation of the solenoid 218 by means of an electrically operable valve 265 in the suction line 267 (FIGS. 4 and 5). The suction applied through the openings 250 and 252 holds the severed leading end of the web against the winding tube 66 on the spindle. Thus, the leading end of the web is carried around the spindle to start a new roll. Simultaneously with the operation of the cutter 222, the indexing motor 102 is energized so as to index the wheel 44 through 60 degrees. This advances the new roll between the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. The winding of the roll is completed at the No. 2 position. As the finished roll is moved from position No. 2 to position No. 3, the drive to the corresponding spindle is disconnected by the engagement of the roller 200 with the stationary cam 202 (FIG. 17), which disengages the clutch 152 (FIG. so as to stop the drive shaft 98 of the spindle. The spindle itself is stopped by the arm 60 which wipes against the finished roll 25 as the roll moves to position No. 3.

At either position No. 3 or position No. 4, the operator removes the finished roll from the spindle and replaces it with a new winding tube 66. If the operator fails to remove the roll or fails to cover the spindle with a winding tube, the machine will be stopped by the action of the arm 74 (FIG. 18) when the roll or bare spindle is indexed to position No. 5.

As each spindle is indexed to position No. 6, the drive to the spindle is activated by the engagement of the roller 2% with the stationary cam 206, which causes the clutch 152 to become engaged.

It will be evident that the rewinding mechanism operates in a substantially automatic manner and is adapted to rewind the Web into a succession of rolls with a minimum of attention from the operator. Each new roll is started automatically, after the preceding roll has been severed from the web, without any interruption in the normal movement of the web through the printing machine. The rewinding mechanism is adapted to operate continuously at high speed so that high production will be obtained on an uninterrupted basis from the electronic printing machine.

Various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may be employed without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as exemplified in the foregoing description and defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A mechanism for rewinding a web into rolls, comprising, in combination, a rotatable indexing wheel, a plurality of rewinding spindles mounted on said wheel at equal angular intervals, each of said spindles having a drive shaft and an overrunning clutch connected between said drive shaft and the spindle, a plurality of control clutches for selectively driving said drive shafts of said spindles, indexing means for rotating said wheel to bring each of said spindles in turn to a plurality of successive positions, means for guiding the web over the spindle at the first of said positions and onto the spindle at the second of said positions, the web being reeled onto the spindle at the second position, a selectively movable roller for pressing the web against the spindle at said first positionnso that the Web will drive such spindle as a pulley ahead of its drive shaft, means for severing the web just beyond the spindle at said first position, the finished roll on the spindle at said second position thereby being severed from the web, each of said spindles having means for applying suction to one side portion thereof to hold the severed leading edge of the web against the spindle at said first position so that such spindle will carry the leading edge around the spindle and thereby will start a new roll, said indexing means being operative to index the finished roll to a third of said positions, means for disengaging the control clutch as the spindle moves between said second and third positions so that the finished roll can be removed from the spindle, and means for re-engaging such control clutch before the spindle is again indexed to said first position.

2. A mechanism for rewinding a web, said mechanism comprising an indexing wheel, a plurality of spindles rotatably mounted on said wheel, indexing means for intermittently rotating said wheel to bring each spindle to a succession of positions, means for guiding the web over the spindle at the first of said positions and around the spindle at the second of said positions, said web being wound into a roll on the spindle at said second position, and a severing device including a presser for selectively pressing the web against the spindle at said first position, a cutter for severing the web just beyond the spindle at said first position, the roll on the spindle at said second position thereby being severed from the web, suction means for holding the severed leading end of the web on the spindle at said first position so that the leading end of the web will be carried around the spindle to start a new roll, said suction means including suction passages leading into the spindle at one side portion thereof, a control magnet mounted on the spindle, and a control switch adjacent the spindle at said first position and operable by the passage of said magnet for actuating said cutter in timed relation to the movement of said suction passages.

3. A mechanism for rewinding a web, said mechanism comprising an indexing wheel, a plurality of spindles rotatably mounted on said wheel, indexing means for intermittently rotating said wheel to bring each spindle to a succession of positions, means for guiding the web over the spindle at the first of said positions and around the spindle at the second of said positions, said web being wound into a roll on the spindle at said second position, a severing device including a presser for selectively pressing the web against the spindle at said first position so that the web will cause said spindle at said first position to rotate, a cutter for severing the web just beyond the spindle at said first position, the roll on the spindle at said second position thereby being severed from the web, suction means for holding the severed leading end of the web on the spindle at said first position so that the leading end of the web Will be carried around the spindle to start a new roll, said suction means including suction passages leading into each spindle at one side portion thereof, said suction passages being rotatable with said spindle, and means for actuating said cutter in timed relation to the rotation of said spindle at said first position about the axis of such spindle so that said cutter will be operated when said suction passages are opposite the web.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,642,681 Kaplan Sept. 20, 1927 1,966,525 Schultz et a1 July 17, 1934 1,988,255 Soons Jan. 15, 1935 2,318,056 Christman May 4, 1943 2,378,024 MacChesney June 12, 1945 2,668,675 Wolfe Feb. 9, 1954 2,769,600 Kwitek et al Nov. 6, 1956 2,942,796 Gurney et a1 June 28, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 511,376 Germany Oct. 29, 1.930 

3. A MECHANISM FOR REWINDING A WEB, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING AN INDEXING WHEEL, A PLURALITY OF SPINDLES ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID WHEEL, INDEXING MEANS FOR INTERMITTENTLY ROTATING SAID WHEEL TO BRING EACH SPINDLE TO A SUCCESSION OF POSITIONS, MEANS FOR GUIDING THE WEB OVER THE SPINDLE AT THE FIRST OF SAID POSITIONS AND AROUND THE SPINDLE AT THE SECOND OF SAID POSITIONS, SAID WEB BEING WOUND INTO A ROLL ON THE SPINDLE AT SAID SECOND POSITION, A SEVERING DEVICE INCLUDING A PRESSER FOR SELECTIVELY PRESSING THE WEB AGAINST THE SPINDLE AT SAID FIRST POSITION SO THAT THE WEB WILL CAUSE SAID SPINDLE AT SAID FIRST POSITION TO ROTATE, A CUTTER FOR SEVERING THE WEB JUST BEYOND THE SPINDLE AT SAID FIRST POSITION, THE ROLL ON THE SPINDLE AT SAID SECOND POSITION 